Chapter Two – A Cage of Gold

(Nyelle’s POV)

I didn’t belong here.

The palace was all gleaming marble and glittering light, endless halls lined with gold and chandeliers that caught the firelight like stars. Every step I took echoed too loudly, reminding me of how small I was. Back home, the stone floors were cracked and cold, the air heavy with smoke and mildew. This place should have felt like a dream.

Instead, it felt like a cage.

The servant stopped before a towering set of doors and pushed them open without a sound. My heart stuttered as I stepped inside.

The room was lavish beyond anything I had ever seen. Cream-colored walls gleamed under silver trim, a massive bed stood draped in silk and velvet, its canopy carved with intricate vines. A fire roared in the marble hearth, spilling warmth into the air scented with lavender and roses. Even the rugs looked softer than anything I had ever slept on.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t a room. It was a world.

And yet I felt no comfort. Only dread.

“This will be your chamber, my lady,” the servant murmured.

My lady. The words felt strange, almost mocking. No one had ever called me that before. Back home, I was nothing more than “girl,” “useless,” “burden.”

I took a step inside, and the door closed behind me with a thud that sounded far too final.

Before I could gather myself, the doors opened again.

And he was there.

Killian. The Alpha King.

I froze as his tall frame filled the doorway, his presence as suffocating as a storm pressing down on the earth. His dark eyes locked on me, stripping me bare, and every nerve in my body jolted awake. Sparks danced across my skin, racing to my chest, my arms, my throat.

I hated it. I hated him.

But I couldn’t look away.

“You will learn quickly,” he said, his deep voice rolling through the chamber. “You are here because your father owed a debt. And from tonight onward, you are mine.”

The word mine cut straight through me, sharp and merciless.

I swallowed hard, my voice trembling. “P-please… I don’t understand. Why me? I’ve never done anything—”

His jaw flexed, his eyes narrowing. “Exactly. Your father sees you as nothing. Taking you strips him of the one thing he still pretends to control—his blood.”

I flinched as if he had struck me. The words echoed my father’s cruelty, only colder.

But I refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him.

He stepped closer, his scent—pine and smoke—wrapping around me like invisible chains. My body betrayed me again, leaning into it even as my mind screamed to run.

His hand lifted, and I braced for the blow I knew too well. But instead, his finger tilted my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.

My wolf stirred.

For nineteen years, she had been silent, buried deep inside me, leaving me weak and broken. But now—under his touch—she fluttered like a heartbeat, faint but alive. My breath caught in my throat.

No. Not him. Not this man.

“Look at me, Nyelle,” he ordered. My name on his tongue was a command I couldn’t disobey. His eyes burned into mine, dark fire and restraint all at once. “I don’t want you,” he said evenly. “But you will be my bride. And when your father hears of it, it will break him.”

The lie stung worse than the truth. Because the sparks racing through my blood told me he did want me—even if he didn’t understand it.

He dropped his hand, leaving my skin cold.

“Take her to the east wing,” he said to a maid who appeared silently in the doorway. “She stays in her room until I decide otherwise.”

And just like that, he turned away.

The maid led me deeper into the chamber, where a silver tray had been set near the fire. Steam curled from roasted meat, butter-glazed vegetables, fresh bread, and fruit so ripe it glistened. My stomach growled painfully, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch it.

“The King said you’d need supper,” the maid said softly, her eyes kind. “If you need anything, ring the bell by the door. Someone will come.”

I blinked at her, startled. “He… sent this?”

She nodded. “Yes, my lady.”

She smiled once more before slipping out, leaving me in silence.

I stared at the food, then at the bed, then at the fire. Every inch of this room was made for comfort, luxury, safety. But I had never felt more like a prisoner.

Because that’s what I was.

He hadn’t thrown me into chains. He hadn’t struck me. He hadn’t shouted. In fact, he had given me this room, this food, this strange half-kindness wrapped in ice.

It almost made me hate him more.

I curled onto the edge of the velvet bed, finally letting a single tear slip free. My wolf stirred again, faint and uncertain.

Even in a palace of gold, I was still a captive.

And the worst part was… a part of me already feared I wouldn’t survive if he let me go.

(Killian’s POV)

The storm had passed, but my wolf hadn’t calmed.

I stalked the corridor outside her chamber, every muscle in my body straining against the pull. It had been years since I’d felt this restless, this consumed. My warriors whispered about me, no doubt wondering why their King prowled the east wing like a caged beast.

But I couldn’t stay away.

Her scent was everywhere. Sweet, sharp, alive. It clung to my lungs until I could barely breathe without tasting her.

I stopped outside her door, my hand hovering above the latch. Foolish. Weak. I should have turned back.

Instead, I opened it.

The fire inside her chamber burned low, painting her in soft gold. She was curled on the edge of the bed, small and fragile against the sea of velvet and silk. Her eyes snapped to mine the instant I stepped inside—wide, fearful, and yet defiant.

“What do you want from me?” she whispered, her voice raw.

Everything.

I forced the word back down my throat. “Nothing,” I said instead, cold and measured. “I want nothing from you.”

My wolf snarled at the lie, pressing forward, clawing at my skin. Mate. The bond was a chain around my neck, pulling tighter with every second I stood there.

I moved closer, unable to stop myself. She gripped the sheets tighter, trembling, but she didn’t look away. Brave little thing.

“You will sleep here,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “You will eat. You will obey. Nothing more is required of you.”

The lie twisted in my chest like a blade.

I lingered a moment too long, my eyes drawn to her lips, her throat, the delicate tremor of her breath. I almost reached for her. Almost let my wolf have what it wanted.

But I turned instead, shutting the door hard enough to rattle the frame.

Distance. Control. I repeated the words like a prayer as I walked away.

And still, in the back of my mind, my wolf’s voice was a growl I couldn’t silence.

Ours.